


Where the Streets Have No Names

by Pixeled



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Death, I wrote this when I was 15, M/M, Sephiroth Valentine, Violence, cop!Aerith, cop!Sephiroth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 10:57:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20191150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixeled/pseuds/Pixeled
Summary: Midgar is a buzzing metropolis and like all powerful cities there are crimes. For Midgar, this is an intimacy. Crime runs strong through its history and there has never been such a high rate of it until now. Welcome to the alternate universe of Final Fantasy VII in which Sephiroth is a good cop, sent to protect the city from its poisonous pleasures.





	Where the Streets Have No Names

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this when I was just 15 years old. The formatting was terrible and I edited it. I like the idea of this fic more than the execution, but I was 15. Lol. Bringing it here.

Chapter One:

Sephiroth Valentine stood in the balcony of the dilapidated building. This was the city of Midgar before him. Its wind tousled his silk-threaded silver hair around him, but he could have cared less as he took in the site of the skyline. The sun had long ago faded and the moon had cast a dark and long shadow that spanned that side of the earth. This was an innocent coverup of beauty for the city.

Midgar had always been a buzzing metropolis during the day. It would be safer during the long hours of the trading day, but during the night the city seemed to take on the characteristic of the lonely moon. This was the true form of Midgar's heart. This was when rape, murder, anarchy, and various other things erupted from the mouth of hell that was its people. The uninviting beauty of solitary night was a beauty that was foreboding. This Sephiroth knew. It was a total lie. There had always been the ringing resilience of helplessness through these night winds, whether you heard the victim's voices or not. Humanity was a curse.

"They must give you hell for all that wonderfully long silver hair you have," the blond’s voice came, but his hands on the man's bangs came first. He tugged forward, making Sephiroth's head come to his so that he could ease the pressure on his scalp. Of course, this act forced him to bend down, for the blond was much shorter. Sephiroth grumbled. This was uncomfortable.

"Don't play games," Sephiroth shifted uncomfortably and found his nose pressed to the blond’s, their mouths an inch apart. The blond smiled happily, obviously liking the fact that he had the beautiful man at his “mercy."

"I like games," the blond cocked his head and smiled almost seductively before releasing Sephiroth's bangs.

"And they better not give me hell for keeping my hair long," said Sephiroth as he straightened, happy to be free of the blond’s hold. "After all," he continued. "I'm their best damned cop."

"Antennae," Cloud said simply and thoughtfully.

"Antennae?" Sephiroth asked.

"Your bangs look like antennae!" the blond tried to grab his bangs, but he let his hands slide and bury themselves into the silver thread that gathered and tapered to his torso. The blond chuckled. Sephiroth looked down into the blue-green eyes that were like his in their mysterious beauty.

"You really are just a kid," Sephiroth smiled to himself. His smiles were nothing of kindness and his laughter was always of mocking tone. Cloud found the silence as he latched onto Sephiroth's hips. Sephiroth studied Cloud's golden hair with slight amusement. It was as if his hair was the delicate beauty of a fiery phoenix's crest. He turned Cloud away and returned to the skyline of Midgar. Although something inside him had a hate for the boy called Cloud Strife, Sephiroth had a soft spot for the kid. He found it ironic that what Cloud dealt in is what he hated. He had no chance at any other work in Midgar. Although his hate for his living was great, however, he was quite the eager little one. His prices were high and he was only for men to behold. The soft feminine features however did not sway his masculinity. He was young and gorgeous and he liked the initiative.

Sephiroth considered Cloud for a moment. He looked too innocent and gentle to have to experience that he had, but nevertheless, he had it. Like all the citizens of Midgar, life wasn't something unless you suffered for it. Curse humanity, Sephiroth silently thought. Humans are the only creatures that kill themselves and often for such stupid matters as fashion.

"Sephie, darlin'," Cloud muttered, running a hand on the older man's trench coat where his buttocks would be. Sephiroth swatted Cloud's hand away and needed no further coaxing to be back into the thoughts of the present at hand. No longer holding onto Sephiroth, Cloud smiled down from the balcony to the pavement of the slum's streets. "Pretty at night, huh?" he chirped.

Sephiroth knew from then on Cloud would always be loyal to him until the end, no matter what the consequences were.

Chapter Two:

Aerith Gainsborough had waited in the lost sector of Midgar in the rather upscale restaurant for its area. Here she had been waiting for a couple of minutes. Looking out the window she had noticed all that had been said about it. Here was the center of destruction for the whole Metropolis. Crime had its punishments, but here it was hardest for the law to deliver its punishments, the consequences of the life the people chose to live. Although, under its condition, Aerith found it hard not to pity the children that were caught in their crimes. They did it—some of them—to live. Others found thrill in puzzling the law of Midgar. She had seen how ecstatic Cloud had been when caught. He only let them catch him, because he knew that Sephiroth would not allow him to be punished. Not when the boy was their connection to the streets. They had busted too many gangs, drug dealers, rapists, and other such things and they were all due to the inside cover of Cloud Strife.

Aerith smiled at the one church that remained in the city. Worship of God had simply been abandoned in this city. Some still believed, but whatever they believed in, they had thought it to turn its back on them. There had been too many deaths in vain for God, but now there had been too many deaths in vain for living. How did one expect to "live" here? It was a surrounding death sentence, cruel and harsh. The broken spires and stained glass windows of the church were the last remaining reminders of a time that was better than this.

To Aerith's dismay, upon visiting the church before entering the restaurant, small flowers had grown inside its decay. The wood was rotten and dead, but from death came life. Perhaps there would really be a chance for Midgar to heal itself.

As Aerith turned her head the front of the restaurant she noticed the silver-haired man that entered gracefully and exchanged a few words with the waiter at the head of the restaurant. Then she smiled, waving to him as he walked toward her, his tanned trench coat lightly swishing against the material of his dark blue suit. The collar of the suit rested half way up on the man's neck, where the tie he wore that was a cream off white color hung to the middle of his chest, which she imagined was built very nicely. His pale skin and silver hair almost made him look like a porcelain statue. He always turned many heads being such a perfectly beautiful man.

"Good morning lieutenant Gainsborough," he said as he took the seat at the booth across from her. Aerith nodded, adjusting her hat on the tightly woven bun that was on the top of her head like a chestnut dumpling.

"Good morning, Valentine," Aerith nodded slowly, acknowledging him as he sat and crossed his legs under the table. Gracefully, he began picking at the fingers of his gloves and pulled them off one finger at a time. When he had finished, he set them both next to the window of the table attached to the wall. She had noted that this man was always on exact time. He had never been early, nor late. It was why Aerith came only a few minutes before the time that he agreed to meet her.

"You should be careful around these parts," Sephiroth looked at her with his soft blue-green eyes. In turn, Aerith's jade ones had smiled at him silently. "They're no place for a defenseless woman. Especially one with such a pretty face."

"I'm flattered, Valentine, but you know well enough that I can take very good care of myself," she said putting emphasis on the words "very good". Sephiroth nodded almost mockingly in that nature. She grumbled silently. He can be such an old fashioned asshole, she thought, but silently wished for the old safe times to return where men held a protective wing over women and children. However, now it had turned into a free-for-all. It would now always be all men for themselves. Everyone was unprotected.

"Miss," Sephiroth lightly touched the waitress who passed by him with a pitcher of water on her arm and she turned to peer down at him. Aerith saw the girl blush lightly. "May we order?" The girl nodded and told him they would be next and she hurriedly returned the pitcher to its place, coming with her pad handy. Aerith snickered to herself. What a charmer!

"What would you and your lady like to order today?" the girl asked. Her voice was mousy, not hiding her young age. She was bent shamelessly in front of Sephiroth, her cleavage bound together by her arms. One held the table while the other lay poised on the pad with a green pen. Her hip was high in the air as she leaned on the table with one leg. Sephiroth was not, however, looking at the girl's breasts. He was looking straight into her eyes.

"What is your soup special today, miss?" asked Sephiroth. The girl was grateful to escape looking at his eyes which sent a shiver down her back as she looked down at the pad. Sephiroth always managed to get the upper hand with his charm, but it rather scared people. They weren't used to manners or chivalry.

"That would be ramen, sir," she breathed. Sephiroth smiled at her, easing her tension and she looked back up at him. Her hand still gripped the edge of the table, but she shifted her weight to her other leg and pulled a strand of red hair behind her ear.

"Very good. I will have that," he said and peered behind the girl at Aerith, who was obviously amused with the way the girl threw herself at Sephiroth and was thwarted. "What will you have, Gainsborough?"

"A grilled cheese sandwich with tomatoes," Aerith stated, smiling to herself. The girl stood straight again as she wrote this, giving Sephiroth a nervous glance.

"And for drink?" she asked, the pen poised over the pad again, tapping nervously.

"I will have a cup of tea. A coke here for the lady. She prefers a lemon in her drink. That will be all, thank you."

"T-Thank you, sir," the girl said as she walked away, hips swinging in the air exaggeratedly. Sephiroth smiled at Aerith. It was white toothed and triumphant. It made her a bit uneasy.

"All you ever eat is ramen. Ramen with tea," Aerith said.

"What's your point?" Sephiroth asked, kneeding his delicate yet strong and skillful long fingers. "You always eat a grilled cheese sandwich with tomatoes."

"With a coke," Aerith added, giggling. "And I saw how that girl threw herself at you, Valentine."

"Yes, I'm used to it," he smiled back a bit arrogantly, but she knew that it was in a strictly sarcastic manner. However, it was indeed true. They always backed off, though, knowing he was a gentlemen. That seemed to scare them. She supposed that was why such a handsome man was still not taken. That and he simply didn't care for relationships. He was entirely devoted to his work, which reminded Aerith of the boy Cloud Strife as she nibbled on the grilled cheese sandwich when it came out.

"What will become of the boy?" Aerith asked, placing the sandwich down as she squeezed the lemon's juice into the glass of soda with her own delicate fingers. Unlike Sephiroth, she had a short thin frame that looked perhaps a bit waiffish although appearances were deceiving, for the girl was an experienced fighter. Instead of wielding the gun that was required of the police force, she carried a metal rod which she had with her since her early childhood to protect herself. Her pale beauty had often won her fights with stunned opponents. It worked the opposite for the lean handsome man across from her. Because he was not only beautiful but menacing looking and soft at the same time, he often scared off opponents before fighting. He was also a skilled orator.

"The boy?" asked Sephiroth as he used the chop sticks with his long fingers to gracefully eat. "Oh. You mean Cloud. What about him?"

"What will become of him?" Aerith repeated the question, knowing Sephiroth was probably avoiding the question.

"He's not stupid. He knows I'm using him."

"Oh, really?" Aerith's eyes lit up. "That's interesting. And he still hangs onto you like you're God or something?"

"He is our bridge to the life down here as it is," Sephiroth tilted his head as he took another mouthful of ramen, chewing slowly before advancing with the conversation. "He only trusts me because I let his crimes slip. I could have cracked down on him for selling his body at such a young age long ago, but I didn't."

"So you're protecting him like that in return for his services?" Aerith finished a side of her sandwich. Sephiroth nodded and took more ramen into his mouth. He sipped at his tea leisurely. “I can't help but wonder. Are you sleeping with him, Valentine?"

"No. Why do you think this?" Sephiroth said, hiding all of the surprised emotion from his face and words, but he had clearly tensed as he sipped his tea a bit more hurriedly.

"Well, it's the way he speaks of you. He really likes you in that way," Aerith said.

"Yes. I know. I am aware of this."

"And what do you do about it?"

"Nothing," Sephiroth said simply. He had many partners and men were included, but that was long ago and now he had no interest in meaningless sex, because that was what it would be to Cloud, wouldn't it be? Sephiroth tensed more. Aerith giggled. Sephiroth hid his tension very shabbily. Now he was the one defeated in an argument.

Chapter Three:

The night was something Sephiroth had always savored about his humanity. It brought him closer to understanding himself. His shift had ended at exactly 2:30 in the morning and now he stared at a clock that read 4:50 A.M. In his head the day had replayed neatly now many times over. He had lunch with lieutenant Gainsborough, who had managed to beat out of Sephiroth the truth of why he had been protecting Cloud. But she had known that Cloud was silently working for Sephiroth. She had only wanted confirmation. This Aerith didn't seem to mind. Why had she been so intent on Cloud's welfare?

Sephiroth shifted in his bed, a loose strand of hair falling over his eyes. He sighed, not caring for the stray hair as he slowly made the image of Cloud in his mind. The boy was at least fourteen by his looks and probably about five feet and four inches in height. He was handsome in his boyish manner, Sephiroth concluded. He thought over what Aerith had said to him. He liked Sephiroth. He knew what that meant because he had felt the boy's arousal against him more than once and pushed him away. He would simply not conceive of Cloud's lust for him. He was strictly professional, and if Cloud wanted to fuck him, then he would just have to get his frustrations out in another way.

Sephiroth fell asleep feeling a hollow feeling in his heart, as if he regretted having to seem cold hearted all of the time, but that was what was in his nature and it was all he knew how to feel.

"Do you really just hate me like that?" came the blond’s voice echoing inside his head. Sephiroth saw darkness all around him. Slowly, Cloud's face came into view above him. His hair was dripping wet and the impossibly spiked hair was now long blond hair that traveled down to the end of his neck. Sephiroth had never realized how long Cloud's hair was until now.

"Do you really despise me so?"

"What are you asking of me?" Sephiroth's voice came dry and bitter, emotionless. He now noticed his wrists were held tightly down by Cloud's small arms. There was an unbelievable strength in those arms that Sephiroth hadn't noticed either. Cloud's features were set in a kind of sadness, but then his lips twisted into a smile that only Sephiroth had shown him. His rare smiles were never of kindness or acceptance of his humanity, they were threats of his ebbing patience. If it was one thing Sephiroth never had, it was patience. His temper was a short fuse which lashed out their consequences through his work.

Now Cloud displayed this grin, which looked almost feral, animal-like in its presence and gave Cloud a deathly glint in his eyes. Could the boy really do him that much harm?

"I know you don't hate me," Cloud dropped the menacing grin, turning it into something sweeter, more of his innocence. He had noticed Sephiroth was not frightened by Cloud. Sephiroth had never been frightened of anything, including death. Only Sephiroth knew that his only fear was himself. Not being able to understand himself. "You hate yourself, don't you, Sephiroth?"

"What are you talking about?" Sephiroth asked stubbornly. Only then did he notice Cloud's nakedness, his wet body lithe against his. He disregarded this and twisted Cloud's fingers from his wrists, but it didn't seem to work as Cloud giggled at the helpless older man.

"I think you've met your match, old man," Cloud giggled some more.

"Old man?" Sephiroth sneered underneath Cloud. He struggled against Cloud even more, but invisible restraints made his body still and he kept himself from crying out at the sharp pain that clung to his skin intimately. He ended his struggling and looked into Cloud's eyes, which burned into his with intensity. The restraints glinted silver. His flesh was naked and they pulsed, sending harsh strokes down his body. Although he kept the emotion from his face as hard as he could, Cloud could somehow sense the increased breathing of the man as the strokes grew harder and faster, relentless. He cried out as Cloud's mouth flashed before him, enveloping his mouth in his before he came violently.

Waking up, Sephiroth felt the sheets clinging to his sweaty body. He grimaced as he looked over to the clock. It was only 5:30 and lack of sleep had made him dizzy and angry. The dream had left him with an aching feeling in his body, but his head throbbed as he again rested upon the cushions of the bed. At this rate he would lose his sanity before his work day started.

—

"Hey! You _promised_yesterday that you would go into the slums with me!" Cloud shouted at the silver-haired man as he brushed his teeth hurriedly. The froth of the toothpaste trickled down the boy's chin, but he didn't seem to mind it at all. Sephiroth sat on the couch of the living room that probably at one time must have looked beautiful, but age and abuse had given it an unwelcome and ghostly image. Sephiroth revered it as he slid his half opened eyes to Cloud, who now wiped his face and mouth with a towel and stomped clumsily over to the man. Unreadable text adorned his faded tank top.

The lighting in the room gave Cloud a ghostly image too, or was it the lack of sleep making Cloud look fuzzy and angelic?

"I'm sorry, Cloud," Sephiroth said, lacking emotion. He would simply not admit that he had gotten close to no sleep last night. There had only been the dream that occupied the night during a short time period. What was more, the dream had made him uneasy around the child.

"You look very tired," Cloud said, making no attempt to soften the look of hurt on his face. What a possessive bastard, Sephiroth thought. A possessive childish bastard. "What were you doing up all night?"

"And what do you imply with that question?" Sephiroth asked, knowing the answer, but trying to draw it out of Cloud, who now stood so close he could hear his strangled breathing. It made him think that he knew about the dream, but of course, he didn't. Was this paranoia hanging on the edge of his mind? This he had never felt. He felt Cloud on top of him now. He was hugging him tightly, his hands grabbing handfuls of his silver hair and he nearly sobbed into his chest.

"I'm sorry, Sephie . . . you were probably working too hard. How selfish I am," Cloud muttered into his neck. Sephiroth nearly shuddered at the hot breath against his flesh. Sephiroth sighed, prying Cloud's fingers from his hair and setting him on the couch, standing and dusting off his coat.

"You win, kid. Now hurry up before I change my mind," was all that Sephiroth said. Cloud laughed gleefully from the couch, hugging his arms to his chest and swinging his legs which were crossed rather effeminately.

"You really do care about me, Sephiroth!" was all that Cloud said. This left Sephiroth more uneasy as he turned, careful not to meet with the boy's eyes, and disappeared into the hall with a meager gesture for the boy to follow him.

Out on the streets, Cloud had walked briskly, keeping up with the tall beautiful man as he walked, eyes straining to keep focus. Cloud was grateful that he had decided to go into the slums with him. This would be something aside from the man's work and Cloud would not have to pester him with the criminal happenings that plagued the streets. It was the morning and at this time, the crime would not be so visibly apparent. The blond-haired boy slightly skipped ahead of Sephiroth in his brown sandals, whose laces hugged his legs to the calf upon the ground firmly as he walked backwards, cocking his

head and studying Sephiroth. He noticed he quickly averted eye contact.

"Are you ashamed to be seen with me, hon?" was all Cloud had to say to make the man harden visibly. He stared right back into Cloud's mirrored blue-green eyes that could have penetrated darkness. Cloud was a lanky boy, despite his height. His long legs showed that he would grow, possibly almost to Sephiroth’s height. Sephiroth silently studied the gauntlet looking bracelet that was upon Cloud's right arm that was adorned with an ankh, a rose with its stem coiled around the ankh. Cloud noticed this study and cleared his throat. "It was something Yuffie gave me," he said sadly. Sephiroth looked at him, slightly aware that he had noticed him studying the boy.

"Yuffie," Sephiroth repeated, not particularly in a question. His white glove clad left hand slipped into the coat's pocket, which continued swishing against his dark blue suit. Cloud nodded almost non-existently, and then fell back in step with Sephiroth. Both were now at a slower pace. Cloud's features twisted into a silent sadness. Sephiroth looked at Cloud.

"She was my sister. The only bit of home and closeness that I had in the world," Cloud muttered. Cloud was then aware of Sephiroth's hand resting upon his shoulder. He had done something he was said to rarely have done. He showed compassion.

Chapter Four:

Sephiroth stayed behind Cloud with a considerable distance. The boy had been leading him to "somewhere where the two could talk". Sephiroth hated the boy's vagueness and he grew impatient, but he was rather used to Cloud Strife's secrecy. The boy used it every time he led him to the crimes he had busted.

"Sephie, darlin'!" Cloud shouted from ahead. Sephiroth slid his eyes from a shabby little hut to the boy in front of him. He was standing at least thirty feet in front of him with his solitary gloved hand on his hip and was smirking happily in front of a bar. The steps that led up to an old door looked unstable and a rusted sign that read "Seventh Heaven Bar" was on the brink of falling into dust.

"Why here, boy?" Sephiroth asked bitterly as he walked up to the boy who had latched his arms around his back to hug his shoulders with his delicate hands as he came. Pushing Cloud off him, Sephiroth caught the glimpse of a tower to the far right which sank half way into the ground. Sephiroth grimaced. ShinRa.

"Dadda! Dadda Dadda!" came a little girl's voice. The tugging at the bottom of his trench coat caught his attention. Cloud's laughter followed.

Sephiroth was looking down at a little girl who was screeching for her father.

She had chestnut colored hair that reminded him of Aerith’s. Her eyes were huge and green as well, and they were full of tears. She continued to savagely tug at his coat, but he said nor did anything. He just stared at the child. Her pink dress was held closed at the neck with a green ribbon and was soiled with mud. Her face, arms, and legs were too.

"Marlene! Dammit!" Heavy steps clambered atop the shabby looking steps to the bar. Sephiroth turned to see a mammoth of a man. His huge frame had hardly fit through the door as he wobbled toward the girl and scooped her up into a huge well-muscled arm. Sephiroth stepped aside. He really didn't want to pick a fight with a man who might have a sharp tongue and a bulk that was unquestionable. He even had a good three inches on him. And he noticed something else that made him uneasy. Where the man's right hand should have been, a gun barrel went straight to the middle of his arm.

"Barret!" Cloud shouted gleefully and looked up at the man with half-circled blue-green eyes. Sephiroth stayed his distance. He'd rather be cautious, even if Cloud seemed to know the huge man. There was another thing. The man was black and that was a rare thing in Midgar. The people were extremely racist.

"Dammit Cloud, waltzing in on time never occurs to you," the man named Barret boomed. He seemed irritable, but neither Cloud nor the girl who had perched herself on his massive shoulder seemed to mind. The man's eyes nervously wandered to Sephiroth's. Recognition hid behind the brown orbs when Sephiroth caught him, and the man turned away.

"I'm sorry Barret. I had to persuade Sephie darlin' here to come with me," Cloud stated, hugging the massive man. Sephiroth scrunched his small nose at the mention of the name Cloud had given him. The man's eyes came upon his again and he abruptly bolted up the stairs, gesturing for Cloud to follow.

Sephiroth wasn't quite sure that he was welcome, but Cloud turned around and went to him, tugging on his coat. "Come on!"

"That man recognized me," Sephiroth said dully, staring after the man who had disappeared behind the door of the bar.

"Don't sweat it, hon. Barret's cool," Cloud said as he disappeared behind the door after the large man. Sephiroth sighed as he carefully ascended the steps. They creaked under his weight. He was surprised they didn't break under the black man's heavy clambering.

Once inside of the bar, Sephiroth studied his surroundings. The bar smelled of alcohol, of course. However, there was a strong scent of cologne that made his nose twitch. There was a woman behind the bar table serving Cloud liquor. Sephiroth stepped close to Cloud and leaned over him to snatch the drink and sniff it. He looked down at Cloud, who protested by grabbing at Sephiroth’s hair, but the silver-haired man merely grabbed one of Cloud's wrists in his own and placed his thumb over Cloud's visible veins and pressed into them mercilessly. The boy squirmed.

"You're under age, kid. And this is vodka. You'd be out and drunk and I won't carry you back," Sephiroth said simply. Cloud gave him a nasty look as he tore his arm from the man's grip. So, the insolent Cloud really _could_have hate in his eyes for his beloved Sephiroth. The man smirked and poured the vodka harmlessly into a waste basket. The girl behind the bar cried out as he did and glared at him.

"You're not my fucking father!" Cloud growled at Sephiroth. "If I wanted a fucking father, I'd leave this shit hole and get adopted!"

"Calm down, boy," Sephiroth said taking a seat beside Cloud. The girl behind the bar grabbed one of Sephiroth's wrists.

"You wasted perfectly good alcohol. We're one of the last bars in this city! Do you know how hard it is to import this stuff?"

"Perhaps being sober will make the city actually think for once,"Sephiroth said looking up at the girl. He smiled sarcastically. She looked at the silver-haired man with rage. "Kindly remove your fingers, my lady, or I will remove them myself."

"Stop it!" Cloud shouted, clutching onto Sephiroth's arm and nearly sobbing. He could hardly believe that this was the same man who had shown him a bit of compassion for his dead sister Yuffie. Why was Sephiroth so unpredictable and unstable? "Let him go, Tifa!"

"Cloud," Tifa said as she let Sephiroth's wrist go. She was about to say more when the man named Barret rose from a platform. Sephiroth's eyes wandered the bar once more. They caught upon a quiet red-haired man who sat at a table in the back of the bar drinking from a wine glass. His eyes were latched upon Sephiroth's. They were an ice crystal blue that made the contrast look like fire and cold. His shirt was also opened by three top buttons. He wore a blue suit and Sephiroth was pretty sure that the nauseatingly strong cologne that wafted around the room was his. He was someone Sephiroth knew. A man of ShinRa incorporated. It was the company that had turned the peaceful Midgar into a city of crime and punishment. The people were afraid of ShinRa, as they should be.

Barret's booming voice asked what was going on of the two: Cloud and Tifa. Sephiroth was pretty sure he had seen the girl before, too. She was a kind child, but rather snobby and sluttish when it came down to it in her intentions. Tifa eyed Sephiroth quietly, yet the silver-haired man paid her no attention. He was staring into the eyes of the man at the corner of the bar. The man was staring back into his.

"Shit. What the hell is going on here?!" Barret asked with new conviction as he glared at Sephiroth. The silver-haired man looked back at Barret, smiling. He found it amusing how everywhere he went he caused a bit of mayhem. Barret grumbled. "Well, I wouldn't expect much else from you."

"I'm offended. I keep this city from tearing itself up," said Sephiroth shrugging. Barret didn't seem to buy that and gave Cloud a menacing look. The boy shrank back. The girl Tifa had her arms around him as if she didn't know he was gay.

"If I may intrude," said the man from behind, who sported the fiery red hair that had caught Sephiroth's attention. His hair—like Cloud's—was spiked as if he was a punk, although Sephiroth knew that what the man was dealing with was not something that would be interpreted as some game. The man's eyes wandered to Sephiroth's again. "I would like to speak to this silver-haired man."

"Who is he, Sephiroth?" Cloud asked as he tugged on the bottom of the man's trench coat, eyes wide with fear.

"Reno of ShinRa," Sephiroth replied dully.

Chapter Five:

"You and the boy will meet me outside. Agreed?" Reno asked, directing the question at Sephiroth.

"Why do you have to drag the boy into this?" Sephiroth asked. Cloud still clutched to Sephiroth's trench coat, looking terrified of Reno. He must have sensed that the man was from ShinRa. Reno said nothing as he passed by Sephiroth and went out of the door, being as careful in descending the steps as Sephiroth had been when he climbed them. Sephiroth looked down at Cloud and then after Reno.

"Is he going to take me away from you?" Cloud asked, looking up from Sephiroth’s trench coat. Sephiroth furrowed his brows in confusion. He couldn't think of a motive Reno could possibly have for the reason Cloud was worried so he shook his head.

"It's not likely," Sephiroth answered and ushered Cloud to follow him as he disappeared from the bar. Cloud looked back at his friends. They nodded him forward. Tifa even hugged Cloud before he left the bar to join Sephiroth and Reno outside.

___

"What do you suppose he wants them for?" Tifa asked as she looked up at Barret. Barret shook his head and hugged Marlene, who still sat on his shoulder. She was twirling a small flower in her hand.

"Where did you get that flower from?" Barret asked, ignoring Tifa's question. The flower was a yellow dandelion. It was a rare thing to have a flower in Midgar.

"Mister Sephiroth gave it to me," Marlene said, still twirling the flower in her mud-dried hands. Sephiroth had been given the flower by Aerith Gainsborough, who had told him that she found various wild flowers growing in the last church of Midgar.

___

Reno smiled as he took Cloud's chin into his hand exposing his tender thin neck. The tank top he wore revealed his midriff and the cutoffs began below his hip. Reno looked over Cloud's body and laughed.

"Doesn't really leave much to the imagination, Cloud-boy," Reno said running a ringed finger over the line of Cloud's flat tummy. He smothered one of Cloud's arms behind his back and brushed his lips against Cloud's neck. His lips parted slowly.

"Leave him alone," Sephiroth said from behind Reno. The red-haired man could feel the bite of the cold gun's barrel against his neck. It sent shivers down his back. Cloud's body trembled underneath Reno at the near thought of being raped by a man from ShinRa incorporated.

"Mmm. Are you jealous, Sephiroth? At the thought of me fucking him before you? I bet I just got farther with him than you have," Reno stroked the boy's blond strip of loose un-spiked hair that was on the side of his face. Reno could feel the gun dig farther into the skin of his neck. In Reno's other hand, he gripped his electro mag rod which he used in his job as a weapon and a piece of jewelry. Its golden head and diamond studded body was gaudy and expensive. "Are you going to shoot me, Valentine?" Reno laughed as he nipped at the flesh of Cloud's neck and rested the electro mag rod before Cloud's face, which glowed with electricity. Cloud trembled even more.

"Sephiroth," Cloud said helplessly. Sephiroth growled and kicked the man’s feet out from under him, knocking the gun over his head with the blunt side. Reno fell to the hard pavement, the electro mag rod rolling from his fingers. He clutched a bleeding forehead.

"You're pathetic, Reno," Sephiroth placed his foot on the man's neck, not allowing him to breathe. "Now. Don't tell me you just brought us out here to waste my time," Sephiroth said and lifted his foot for Reno to answer. The man took in a choking breath and grimaced up at Sephiroth.

"The company is searching for the both of you," Reno said, spitting blood at the ground. Sephiroth placed his foot back down and held out a hand for Reno. The red-haired man took it and stood. He wasn't about to thank Sephiroth for the help.

"W-why?" Cloud stuttered. He had wrapped his arms around himself and shrank back into the wall.

"You were the first injected with the Jenova project's cells," Reno grumbled groggily, holding his bloody head. "They . . . they want to complete the job."

"Jenova?" Sephiroth's eyes narrowed.

"Jenova was a project ended with the birth of Cloud Strife. You are the only ones," Reno said, picking up his electro mag rod, his many silver and gold gaudy rings shining under the light of the sun.

"What is he talking about, Sephiroth?" Cloud asked. He ran to the silver-haired man and collapsed in his arms. Sephiroth grimaced at the red-haired man named Reno.

"Jenova are the cells of poison on mankind . . .”

"Poison?" Cloud's eyes widened.

"It makes you and I different from everyone else. You and I are not human in that sense."

___

"I can't go home alone! Not now! Not after what you told me, Sephiroth! I've lost so much! And . . .and . . . I don't even have my humanity!"

Sephiroth sighed and looked at the boy Cloud beside him. He was silent now and hugging his knees to his chest. His eyes were filled with confusion and hate. He looked up at Sephiroth, softening his expression only slightly.

"What's going to happen to us now, Sephiroth?" Cloud asked quietly.

"I planned on leaving this city anyway," Sephiroth said to Cloud. It was a joke, but it made Cloud even grimmer.

"ShinRa's always been on my shit list," Cloud growled.

"I don't know who _hasn't_said that, kid," Sephiroth laughed bitterly. Cloud looked at him sideways and hugged his knees under his chin.

"Do you think we can really leave this city?" Cloud whispered.

Sephiroth stood from off his couch and untied the sash on his trench coat.

"I don't know, kid. No one's ever tried it." He hung the coat on the rack by his door. Turning his back on Cloud and walking towards his bedroom, he looked back at the blond. "I'll be right back. I'm going to change." He disappeared into the bedroom and Cloud nodded to himself more than to Sephiroth and hugged his legs even tighter.

"There's always a first time for everything," Cloud whispered and cursed his beautiful eyes, the result of testing.

___

Sephiroth lay in the sheets from his bed on the floor for a few hours, unable to sleep. He stared up at the ceiling. He wanted to sleep more than anything to get a few hours of torment muffled by the state akin to rigor mortis. Sleep was so tempting now that he felt regret for letting Cloud get so close to him. When he came back from changing he

discovered the boy sleeping on his couch, curled up like a coiled rope.

Hanging his holsters under the coat, he had avoided looking at the boy and turned to go to his bedroom, but Cloud was a light sleeper. His eyes opened and he caught a glimpse of Sephiroth.

"Sephiroth," Cloud had muttered groggily. He pleaded for the man not to leave him alone and soon fell asleep as Sephiroth sat and told him of a time when flowers bloomed in Midgar. Cloud fell asleep clutching onto the silver-haired man's arm and Sephiroth gently lifted Cloud, who protectively snuggled into Sephiroth's chest as the man carried him to his bedroom and tucked him into his bed. Taking the top sheets off the bed, Sephiroth had wrapped himself in the sheets he had collected.

Now he drifted into sleep entangled in the mess of sheets, his long silver-threaded hair further working to immobilize his body. He took one last look at the sleeping boy and fell into a deep sleep himself with a smile.

"You hate me!" Cloud's voice echoed in Sephiroth's mind. Blackness cloaked half of Cloud's features but he was there, his eyes convicting Sephiroth. "When you kill me, you will hate me."

"What do you mean?" Sephiroth asked. Now he was alone and the echo of his voice rang in his ears a thousand fold.

"You hate me," Cloud's voice was in his mind again, solid. No echoes. "You hate me," it came now in a silent whisper that was almost ghostly. Invisible arms wrapped themselves all around Sephiroth. "You hate me!" It was almost an orgasmic cry this time. The hands restrained Sephiroth. His eyes widened and he could feel his pupils dilating as the image of Cloud formed in his mind.

He saw himself, an arm wrapped around the boy, pressing his body to Cloud's.

Sephiroth saw his gun pressed against the blond’s neck and traveling down his body. His own expression was heartless, liking it as the boy trembled in fear.He could almost taste the insanity. He heard the pleas and he lifted the boy's chin with the barrel of the gun as he stood above the boy . . . and pulled the trigger. All he could see was red. Crimson red filling his eyes, his mind, a beautiful insanity filling his heart. He drank heavily upon it . . . and screamed his pain.

Chapter Six:

"Sephiroth! Sephiroth! Wake up! Please wake up!" Cloud shouted frantically above the man who was trembling under Cloud's touch. He was shaking Sephiroth back and forth. The man was still screaming as if he endured the greatest pain the world had to offer.

"W-what do you want, boy?" Sephiroth opened an eye groggily after his screaming ended and he slumped in Cloud's hold. Cloud however was shaking as he stared wide-eyed at Sephiroth, who had abruptly ended screaming and asked him what he wanted waking the man up! Cloud's eyes welled with tears and he curled into Sephiroth's arms as he sat up.

"You gave me your bed to sleep in for the night," Cloud said as if he were questioning why the man had done it. "Did you have a nightmare, Sephie darlin'? You were screaming bloody murder," Cloud frowned. Sephiroth sighed and moved Cloud from his chest by his shoulders, looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"What time is it, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked, shaking his head.

"2:30," Cloud said looking at the clock by Sephiroth's bedside. The man raised his hands to rub his temples tiredly. He had such a headache and inside, his heart screamed. Dreams of Cloud are going to haunt me, Sephiroth thought as if in a silent way accusing himself. What was the purpose of these dreams? Maybe somewhere inside him he had feelings for Cloud. Sephiroth frowned remembering the dream. He had killed Cloud in cold-blooded murder. The phone rang.

"Dammit," Sephiroth grumbled, taking a hand away from massaging his temples to grab up the phone.

"Valentine," came the voice from the other end.

"Who is this?" he asked, his voice coming out scratchy and irritable. Cloud's hips were hugging his. It made him uncomfortable, but seeing as how the boy had latched onto him in a hug that was like a death grip, Sephiroth had no choice but to let him. Although he would now accept Cloud's affection without punishing the boy for doing so, he would not return it. Affection was something that he had never learned.

"Lieutenant Gainsborough, silly," came the woman from the other line.

Aerith. His head's throbbing pain was only a dull one now. He had blocked it from his mind. He found his attention drawn to Cloud, who nestled his head into Sephiroth's shoulder, his breath hot against Sephiroth's fully exposed neck . . . now that he was in one of his tank tops he wore to sleep in.

"It's 2:30 in the morning," came Sephiroth's groggy voice. Aerith however always seemed awake when she called Sephiroth at such an ungodly hour. He could picture her smug face, perfectly oval, her eyes large and sparkling and her lips in a set smile. "Some people like sleeping," he said as he felt Cloud loosen his grip. He had fallen asleep again and had become something of dead weight upon Sephiroth.

"I have something you might be interested in, Valentine," Aerith chirped.

If Sephiroth saw her before him, she would have had a big white toothed grin on her face. It was rare she had information that the silver-haired man had not received yet.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Sephiroth asked, only a spark of interest showing in his voice. Slowly, he cradled Cloud in his arms and set him aside. Cloud's head rested upon Sephiroth's thigh and he mumbled something in his sleep.

"I'm sure Reno has spoken to you already. I just received word of it,” Aerith said. Sephiroth smiled. Aerith was good at finding out about things, especially when it came to Sephiroth Valentine. However, his past was shrouded in darkness. It was something Aerith still could not find out about.

Sephiroth's smile grew further. He had some satisfaction that he was a puzzle to Aerith. Even with his current actions uncovered he was a puzzling man.

Aerith liked the challenge, but the truth was, how was she ever going to see through Sephiroth to understand him? He didn't even really understand himself. He looked up through his window which he had drawn open. The moon smiled down upon him and the stars twinkled like the sparkles that would be in Aerith's large jade eyes.

"Very good," Sephiroth laughed. "How did you manage to find that out?"

"You know my methods, Valentine. I tapped into his telephone conversations. They were direct with the president of ShinRa," Gainsborough's voice was filled with pride as she spoke those words.

"The president of ShinRa," he said, hiding his surprise. Sephiroth's odd eyes lit up. They were eyes that glowed like the yellow of a cat's eyes in the dark. "That would require Reno to be a sloppy bastard and somehow that suits the accursed man."

"Yes. I couldn't believe that he had been so careless in his phone calls. This was the president for God's sake!"

"Would you know about God's sake?" Sephiroth asked sarcastically. “He must have done it for a reason. Even that ignorant dishonorable pig isn't that stupid. If it was confidential—“

"That was just the thing, Valentine. He laid out a lot of information and it was probably for your benefit. Perhaps a way to make up for frightening the boy."

"You know this too," Sephiroth said dully, subconsciously looking down at the boy who continued to say incoherent things in his deep slumber. The smile still was on Cloud's face. Sephiroth was glad the boy had insisted he stay with him. What Aerith told him confirmed his slight worry. Lieutenant Gainsborough never failed to back up what he thought. In the small way that he

had, Reno had helped Sephiroth and Cloud, but Sephiroth was smarter than to just accept what was given him. Perhaps Reno had only wanted to lead the two into a trap of words and lies. Words. Sephiroth smiled. Words were his speciality. Something that he was the most proud of in his abilities. But, dwelling on this dilemma at the moment would be draining and he needed his rest.

"So what do you propose?" Lieutenant Gainsborough asked as if she had heard the man's thoughts.

"I need to sleep. We will discuss these matters tomorrow morning, Lieutenant."

"In the forgotten sector?" asked the woman from the other line.

"Yes," Sephiroth said, "And by the way, I gave your flower to a little girl I met today."

Chapter Seven:

"The infamous Cloud!" Aerith Gainsborough chirped happily. It was the first time she had actually spoken to the boy without having him in custody for Sephiroth to have to pick up and release him from the facility. Cloud smiled nervously at her and hid behind Sephiroth's trench coat. The man glanced at Cloud for doing so, but made no sudden attempts to try to break him from the material of his coat.

"It seems different this morning, don't you think, lieutenant?" Sephiroth asked, looking around at the nearly deserted streets. This would be usual during the night, but during the day it was unheard of. However, the forgotten sector was just that: forgotten. The streets seemed barren and lifeless even when the civilian population was about on its streets.

"Mmm," Aerith nodded. "Seems peaceful, doesn't it, Valentine?"

"You know well not to trust instincts of 'peaceful' in this city, lieutenant," Sephiroth laughed. Aerith smiled and looked towards the sky. The tall buildings of the sector were hidden partially by a thin fog. This was the

sector closest to the water. It was near the town of Kalm. As the fog parted in front of them the restraint seemed closer than ever. Walking here sometimes took forever if you dwelled upon it, but the time passed quickly now because there were many things on Sephiroth's mind. However, he imagined that Cloud had the most on his mind. He was abruptly thrown into something he had no clue about and Sephiroth knew he was scared for his life.

"Your situation is very serious," Aerith said. Those were the most obvious words Sephiroth had ever heard. "And it is a suggestion that you leave the city before—”

"Avoid talking of this until we sit down at the restaurant," Sephiroth said, wrapping an arm around Cloud. The boy now felt hollow. There was something of a gnawing pain in his stomach since the day before when Reno had appeared. Silently he had known it wasn't the last time that he would meet the man from ShinRa. Cloud held back tears and promised to himself that he would be strong. He would be as strong as the silver-haired man who held him in a warm embrace with his arm. It seemed to send the message that no matter what would happen, Cloud had to have courage from this point on. Sephiroth couldn't protect the boy forever.

"We are leaving the city," Sephiroth said as he took a seat in his and lieutenant Gainsborough's usual booth. Cloud was sitting upright beside Sephiroth and was trying at all costs not to breakdown into sobs. This was home. This was Midgar. This was where the streets had no names . . .

"And you know Reno will know about this plan sooner or later. He'll go after you, or worse, he'll have some of the other of the president's henchmen after you," Aerith said. Her face was grim as she looked over at Cloud. His hands were clasped on the table and his eyes were on the table. He was clearly in deep thought. Pieces of his hair covered his eyes, but Aerith knew that he was probably concentrating on not to cry. He was trying his hardest to try to seem brave to prove himself to the man beside him.

"I will risk that chance," Sephiroth said, his expression grim. Leaving Midgar would be a task that was hard to achieve. Yes. Hard to achieve, but not impossible, he thought.

"And the boy?" Aerith asked, eyeing the moping boy.

"He won't be caught. I'm protecting him," Sephiroth said dully and gave Cloud a glance. The boy looked up at Sephiroth and frowned sadly.

"You don't have to protect me. I'm not a kid like you seem to think I am," Cloud said.

"Really?" Sephiroth laughed. "I'm old enough to be your father, Cloud."

"I didn't mean it like that." He returned to hanging his head in a mope.

Sephiroth looked down at him, a sad look creeping over his face.

“There's been so much that I've gone through in this city and I want to stay here. I . . . I'm going to return to my job on the streets."

"Cloud," Aerith leaned over the table to take his un-gloved hand in hers. Her touch was warm and made him feel a bit better in some sense. With that touch she had tried to transmit to him all of the warm friendliness and hope she could offer. Cloud needed someone to love him and whether he realized it or not, Sephiroth had those feelings for him, even if he wouldn't even admit it to himself. The man was kneading his delicate fingers as always, craning his long neck to peer beyond the forgotten sector, but all there was before him was a fog that settled over his unreachable prize and she imagined there was a fog clouding his heart. His heart was where he denied Cloud of the feelings that he had always needed as well.

"I will protect you to the best of my ability," Sephiroth said. He turned to tilt Cloud's head towards his face and smiled. This time there was no sarcasm behind his smile. There was no other motive behind his smile. Perhaps he had learned more than he ever could about himself from the boy named Cloud Strife, who had a passion for life, even though he had grown up in such a place as Midgar. It was the same city that Sephiroth had grown up in and perhaps he understood how Cloud felt. He had belonged to an orphanage and was made to work from an early age. He had been a cop for many years now. Many lonely years.

___

His back arched and had been fractured in the spine's discs. It was now that his body was too rigid and stiff. Blood was everywhere. His chest was exploded open, his rib cage crushed. The soft click of the gun came, breaking the silence after the man's screams ended, his lab coat soaked with crimson blood.

His assailant and brutal murderer smiled a harsh grin and cocked the gun, firing one last silent bullet into the man's face, right into his left eye. Blood splashed the ShinRa uniform that the attacker had stolen.

"I never did like your stupid stare and your bad posture. Consider this a lesson in manners and chiropractic needs," the ambivalent voice came. The ShinRa-clad person cocked the gun again, opening the shaft where the bullets hid. The empty shells of the bullets fell like rain to the ground. Replacing the gun into a pocket of the ShinRa uniform, the attacker was careful not to go anywhere near the body and picked up the phone from his office.

Dialing the number, the person couldn't help but smile. It was all so perfect. Even if the person was caught, they thought of fleeing the city of Midgar and they would never disturb her once she crossed lands from Junon Harbor to the Costa Del Sol. This attacker would not rest until what had been wanted for years was satisfied.

"Cloud," came the ambivalent voice after the ringing stopped and someone came to the phone, the breathing heard before anything else.

"Who is this?" came the voice of Cloud. The attacker smiled.

"This call is coming from the Headquarters of ShinRa, the sixty seventh floor. You will come here alone or you will suffer the consequences. And," the attacker said taking a pause to breathe heavily "bring your gauntlet."

Chapter Eight:

Sephiroth had fallen asleep quickly and at an early time this night. It was unlike the two other nights where he had gotten almost no sleep. For this, Cloud was grateful. He frowned sadly remembering the phone call. The voice at the other end sounded indifferent. Cloud could not tell whether it was male or female. He was not sure if should go. The person had threatened death. Whether on him or someone else he did not know. How had this person done this? How could they know so damned much? Then Cloud hung his head in shame. It's my . . . profession, Cloud thought bitterly. The person had probably seen him on the streets with Sephiroth . . . or worse, followed them.That's probably how they got Seph's phone number, Cloud thought even more bitterly. They knew Sephiroth was here. If he noticed Cloud was missing, would he dismiss it? Or does his phone have a tracer? Would he know where Cloud would be? Would he follow him?

Cloud stared hard at the man and then even harder at his gauntlet. The voice had told him to wear his gauntlet. The idea that one of his family members had survived ShinRa briefly crossed his mind when he had hung up, but no. He was almost certain he had seen them get slaughtered . . . one by one. His mother was tortured. She was threatened with death unless she revealed his hiding place. Sure enough, Cloud was hiding under the floor boards. He was too stiff with fear to move. Too shocked to cry. Too young to know why they were doing this. And he had watched still as a statue as his mother was beaten and raped by a ShinRa officer with a blue suit. His father, the bastard, had left his mother long before that. Cloud couldn't even remember him. The only thing he knew was that whenever anyone would bring up the man, his mother broke out into sobs.

The ShinRa officer that dispatched a group of less experienced soldiers into the house was engraved into his mind. He was a delicate looking man. He almost looked frail. His long black hair was silken and it went behind his small elven-looking ears. His hazel eyes screamed with a feral contempt as he advanced on Cloud's mother. A defenseless woman. This is what ShinRa prayed on. Women and children. They were merciless and for what happened to him, Cloud could never forgive the company.

There was painful recognition when Sephiroth had told him all he knew about Jenova. Jenova was most likely a disease that ShinRa had termed harmless. They thought it would benefit their company. The first two to be injected with the disease were Sephiroth Valentine and himself. Sephiroth had told him he had been injected at least twenty years ago, where as Cloud was injected at birth. One of the obvious pluses to Jenova was that once injected, seeing in the dark could be executed perfectly—that is, if you knew how to.

His mother had kept him completely ignorant of what he was capable of. Cloud sighed.

Cloud's mind wandered back to the man who had ravaged his home and murdered his mother and sister. He had heard one of the soldiers scream a name.

Tseng. The man was a complete perversity of humanity. He was disgusting in a beautiful way. It reminded Cloud of a spider. The eight legged things always scared him, yet fascinated him. He found them evil, disgusting, perverse, and

beautiful all at the same time. The sharp lines of the man Tseng's face and thin limbs had been the same thing in his mind. Fire's shadow licked upon his face. He had noticed another man. One in a ShinRa uniform. As he kept silent and unmoving, feeling a horrible sickness in him, he saw the man come towards the floor boards above him. He stopped above his head and kicked at the boards. Cloud abhorred him for this action. Emotion flooded into his limbs.

Adrenaline. He climbed into a shaft that led to the attack and watched as the floor collapsed. Cloud struggled to remember what the man looked like as he imagined him climbing down into the secret passage. Somehow he had known that this man wasn't a ShinRa soldier. Cloud couldn't remember . . . there was nothing in his mind but the realization of the burning building and then man taking him outside.

Cloud could remember Reno. He had assaulted him before. There were times before the incident where he was grateful Sephiroth had saved him. Cloud grimaced. Child pornographer. Pimp. Asshole. Faggot. They were all things that Cloud could use to describe Reno. The man had given him plenty of scars. He saw the children he had abducted out on the streets. Reno was no exception to the corruption of Midgar and neither were the children. Neither was Cloud. He looked at Sephiroth, grateful he had come to his aid. He watched the man. His body was sprawled on the floor, entangled in sheets with his long white hair that had silver highlights like the silk of a spider web around his head.

Cloud gulped. The sheets hugged his hips intimately and his tank top curled up over his lean stomach. His eyes were covered by his hair so Cloud couldn't quite know if he was really sleeping or not. His mouth was parted and he groaned as he turned over onto his side.

"Sephiroth," Cloud whispered as he went to his side and knelt. His mouth closed and he turned over again, hugging his sheets. Cloud brushed his hair out of the man's eyes. Sephiroth was indeed sleeping. Cloud could see that his brow was furrowed, his mouth hooked in sarcastic pain, or was it pain that he had hidden from everyone else? He leaned over and kissed Sephiroth's lips, but after Cloud had done it he sighed. He knew the man would most likely never return it and he walked to Sephiroth's drawer, pulling out a long sleeved shirt and jeans that belonged to the man who now tilted his head backwards into the floor and exposed his neck. Cloud turned back to the drawer, closing it and hugging the clothes.

He changed quickly, trying not to think of being placed in danger when he would creep outside alone and unprotected. He thought about what Sephiroth had said earlier in the restaurant and he looked back at him. Maybe he would protect the man more than he thought. He dressed quickly and frantically, almost falling and causing a clatter of noise that would have surely awoken the man if he hadn't have caught his balance. He sighed. His heart was racing as he pulled on the brown boots he brought over to the man's house just in case. They were sitting in Sephiroth's closet. He moved to the door and held his breath. Perhaps this was the stupidest thing in the world to do. He didn't care if it was surely suicide. He didn't care. And if he died, who was he?

Nobody. He would just a stupid boy who died just to save a guy he had a silent crush on. Silent, he thought to himself. It was hardly silent. Sephiroth probably knew well just how much Cloud loved him. Cloud hadn't felt a love that was so aching since his sister died. Since the passion of rage clutched his heart as his mother was raped and beaten to death.

Cloud glanced at Sephiroth's coat. He had seen him hide his holsters underneath it when the man had woken him up. He hesitated as he looked at the coat and silently slipped a gun from its holster and hid it in his pocket. He ran from the building after he had done so, dressed in Sephiroth's drab dark

clothing. He was running from his heart, yet running to it all at the same time. Cloud ran as hard on the pavement as he could. He had good reason to run until his legs ached and until it was almost a pain equivalent to the bittersweet throb in his chest. He ran simply because he didn't know what else to do.

Chapter Nine:

A hand assaulted Cloud as he managed to enter the floor of the Headquarters that he was told to come to. The hand gave form to strong arms gripping Cloud and pulling him into a corner.

"With the amount of noise you're making I'm surprised they didn't ravage you," came the voice he recognized from the phone call. On instinct Cloud struggled, flailing his arms as he was dragged. The hand covering his mouth did not allow the screams that were in his throat, but if the hand was not there his voice would not produce the chocked sound within his throat. He simply obeyed the gruff command.

His abrupt assault still left Cloud speechless as he was dragged and made to follow the ShinRa-clad person that trudged ahead of him. Blood covered the uniform, which made Cloud whimper as he followed, reduced to shambling at his shock. The person snapped around.

"Do I have to gag you?" the person said in a hiss. Cloud shook his head and continued to follow. Lack of being about to express his fright made his whole body quake in fear as he picked up his pace to follow the person closely. Suddenly the halls lit up with bright red lights.

"Attention ShinRa personnel: an intruder has entered the building. Attention . . .”

"Shit!" The person cursed and glared at Cloud. "You're armed, aren't you?!"

"Y-yes, ma'am," Cloud winced and shrank back. The shirt flopped over his fingers, too large for his thin frame. The ShinRa-clad person shoved Cloud against the wall and immediately began searching him and pulled out the gun he had hidden in his front pocket.

"A mako gun? Where did you get this?" the person slammed Cloud against the wall, almost cracking his skull against a rigid metal part. A mako gun?

Sephiroth had a mako gun? Cloud remembered his dark blue suit and he froze.

"Dammit! You stupid idiot!” the person growled. She was leaning over him and cleavage was prominent in her oversized ShinRa uniform. The ShinRa-clad woman realized this and clutched the shirt, pulling it up to cover herself. Cloud ducked from her.

"We . . . we should crawl up the vent and . . . crawl up into the top floor," Cloud said looking at the rusted caging of the narrow tunnel. The woman glared at Cloud, but did not disregard the suggestion. She grabbed Cloud by the hand and went to throw him aside to rip off the cage of the vent.

"Where did you get the mako gun, Cloud?" she asked as she pushed him into the tunnel.

"I found it," Cloud said as he pushed forward into the tunnel and began to crawl at a steady pace.

"I don't believe that. You lie shabbily," the girl said. She was trying to keep her voice indifferent still, but of what use would that be? Cloud had already heard her voice and saw her breasts to confirm it. A girl was holding him hostage and he was actually afraid. Cloud frowned. Why shouldn't he be? There was no telling what could happen, especially now that it was a possibility that ShinRa would catch him. The image of Tseng in his mind made the pain in his stomach worsen. There was a sharp stab that made him stiffen and gasp. The sheet of metal underneath them began to break and both fell with shocked surprise into a large hallway. The girl fell with a soft groan onto Cloud. Her hands were both in immobilizing positions upon him. One rested heavily on his crotch and the other one on one of his wrists. Her ShinRa-masked face was uncovered. The hat had slipped to reveal two shocked brown eyes.

"I-I,"Cloud stuttered. His eyes mirrored her shock, but he was nearly mortified with fright. The person staring back at him turned her head and hid tears and picked herself up off of the boy. He didn't know whether to rejoice or feel frightened for this occurrence. He covered his face in a wash of emotion and screamed. The girl snapped to cover Cloud's mouth with her hands and cursed at him with her raging eyes.

"Cloud," the girl whispered, a hint of fear in her eyes and voice.

"We're . . . we're fucked." As if a confirmation to her fear the bite of a gun's bitter coldness pressed against her neck. It screamed and surged through her body, whispers of death melting into the warmth of her skin. Cloud looked horrified beyond her.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud cried as the girl swirled around. Sephiroth quickly holstered the gun to grab the girl's wrists. The girl screeched as he twisted her arm behind her back. She cursed profusely.

"I know you can't stand not touching such a cute girl like me, but GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME YOU CREEP!" She screeched and swung her legs backwards, kicking Sephiroth in the crotch. Sephiroth stumbled backwards, shocked enough to make the girl escape to screech and squawk at him.

"Stop it," Cloud said looking down at his shoes. Sephiroth glared at him with a silent rage. The girl growled and slipped a ninja star from her wrists and slashed Sephiroth's chest with it as he scolded Cloud with hard eyes. The girl screamed and began running, grabbing at Cloud, which made her stumble and begin to cry, her gun dropping out of her pocket.

"Sephiroth," Cloud whispered and he placed a palm on the silver haired man's face, tracing his features. The girl continued to cry. Hate rang through her sobs as he heard her whispering "Hojo's son" over and over as she stared back at Sephiroth. He was doubled over Cloud clutching his wound in more shock than pain.

"I'm bleeding," Sephiroth whispered with quiet hate. "She made me bleed."

Chapter Ten:

Aerith Gainsborough ran with all her strength, hitting the pavement with the slap of her heels as she picked up her pace. Her large jade green eyes narrowed with a few different emotions as she reached the end of the wall market. Within the wall market trade was most prominent, and so was prostitution, among other things. She now regretted leaving her apartment in her formal work attire: a red skirt suit and a pair of shoes that made her poor feet feel like trapped sausages. Struggling to catch her breath, Aerith kicked off her shoes. After doing so, she felt relieved and looked up at the wire that led to ShinRa's headquarters from this alley way. She could see the tall building beyond all the rubble.

"Attention! All ShinRa personnel! An intruder has entered the building! Attention! All ShinRa personnel!"

"An intruder. This is what they tell me to investigate?" Aerith glanced at the wire again. She grabbed hold of it and shimmied half way up. She was trying to forget her fear of heights when a section of the building blew up.

The aftermath made the wire reel and Aerith squawked, holding onto it as if it were a lover to hold, something she knew would not last forever. As she crawled onto a side of the wall and jumped to another wire, Sephiroth came into her mind. She thought that if the man was messing around in the building, she would kill him.

___

"Sephiroth," Cloud whispered. Sephiroth had long pried Cloud's hands from him. He had ordered them on. Now they wandered a long corridor of the building.

"Keep quiet, Cloud. They already destroyed a section of the building looking for us. Damn assholes."

"Are you sure you're all right? You're bleeding a whole lot," Cloud said.

Sephiroth, as usual, hid all of the pain and anger he had at the moment. He had ripped a section of his own shirt to wrap tightly around his waist. The remainder of his shirt was used to wrap around his wound from when he entered the building, which he did a good job of hiding until the girl slashed another wound onto his chest. The shirt was slung from his waist to his chest and the

remainder of the scraps were around his upper arm.

"I'm fine," Sephiroth mumbled, hiding raspy breath.

"You know, I doubt he's okay. I got him pretty good. Any deeper and you know, he wouldn't even be here acting all tough," the girl chirped. It seemed that she was proud of the wound that she had inflicted upon the man.

"I'm fine," Sephiroth repeated. This time he said it more dully and Cloud could see his distinct limp. He was growing weaker, but even when threatened with such a thing as death, Sephiroth had always hid emotions from anyone and everyone.

"I'm sorry," Cloud sighed. He fumbled desperately to avoid Sephiroth's harsh stare. His eyes, so green and deep, Cloud was sure he would be entranced with the anger and pain that Sephiroth struggled to hide. It would make him even more dejected from the man. He felt guilt beyond the mixed feelings of the girl ahead of him. She turned around and smiled, her white-toothed gesture to Cloud broad and almost menacing, if not all together frightening. She was sick with glee.

"Clooooooooouuud!" the girl said. "Aren't you happy I'm back now?"

"Can't we save the reunion until we get out of here?" Cloud asked coldly, but more fearfully as he wrapped his arms around himself and hugged the warm long sleeved shirt. He brought the sleeves to his face and smiled. It smelled of Sephiroth's sweet cologne and musk.

"I agree. Down at the end of this corridor is a ventilation duct. We'll take that to hide from the ShinRa personnel and to escape fairly quick. We'll take that path down to the fifty ninth floor and take the stairs down. They never guard the staircases, but they guard the elevators," Sephiroth said to ease Cloud's worry of getting caught before anything else. Sephiroth could feel blood soak his own hand as he clutched the bandages to his wound. Cloud noticed as Sephiroth cut ahead, his eyes trained on the turn of the corridor. There's too much blood, the silver-haired man thought to himself and he frowned.

"How did you get wounded before you came here?" Cloud asked, almost as if he heard the man's thoughts.

"What does it matter?" Sephiroth asked, staring at the blood soaked hand. His voice dripped with mortality. He suddenly stopped in the corridor and inclined his head as if to hear something and stared hard at Cloud. "Shh. Do you hear that?" He whispered.

"It sounds like . . . the flutter of wings?" Cloud whispered after a long period of thinking of the noise. It was in the form of a question, as if he doubted himself. A clustered sound of coos sounding proved him wrong and pigeons flew at the three of them, feathers everywhere. The fine long quills of the feathers and the fluff of its coating was covered in blood. The feathers of the pigeons and the pigeons themselves blocked each of the party's vision. When the pigeons fell away, Sephiroth staggered, his pale flesh marred with the flock's scratches. Cloud and the ShinRa-clad girl did not escape unscathed either. Cloud's arm was dripping with blood and his heart was racing about a mile a minute.

"Something must have spooked them. The window was probably left open," Sephiroth said. "They were covered with blood before they attacked us," he said in a raspy voice as he opened the door and went to open it gradually. The girl grabbed Sephiroth back.

"N-n-n-n-no," she stammered.

"Is there something in there that you don't want me to find out about? This is the floor you agreed to meet Cloud on."

"I'm a ninja! I rely on stealth! This is not wise!"

"There's _no one_in there. They would have done something about by now with all the noise you and Cloud make," Sephiroth said. "If anyone is in there, there's no way in hell they're still breathing."

"N-n-n-n-no," the girl stammered again and felt her heart clambering in her chest. With the first clap of her thundering heart Sephiroth turned the knob. The second clap signaled the man opening the door a creak, surveying the inside. The third clap signaled him to see the blood. The fourth and he opened the door. Pigeons flew past him. Some of their bodies were caught in his silver threaded hair, serving as an obstacle. They struggled and freed themselves, yet Sephiroth paid no attention to them. Other birds flew onto his shoulders and head, settling there as if her were a perch. He stood there in the doorway saying nothing and doing nothing. Finally, he dropped to his knees into the pile of blood, splashing the crimson richness onto his trenchcoat, his hair falling into the pools of its wealth of red. There was one thing he yelled before ravaging the body with his hands, crushing the collapsed chest, hammering the sunken skull, ripping into the flesh of the dead skin, as pale as the under belly of a gutted fish. That thing was "Hojo".

Chapter Eleven:

The alarm sounded constantly. Aerith Gainsborough could see soldiers marching alongside the building. She hid behind a sheet of metal and slinked along the walls. Her hosiery ripped and the walls had scraped the pale skin of her leg. Her feet had avoided glass and sharp earth fairly well, she had thought. But her poor hands were red from slipping on the wire. Here the alarm almost bleated the smell of mildew, decay, death. The streets were black with ash. The building stuck out like a sore thumb. It was the only thing that looked new amongst old and dead things. But this was a new thing that thrived off the old. Midgar. She slinked silently along the familiar feeling of old. As she looked up at the never ending staircase she felt the world was smaller than it really seemed. She thought of the life the last church in Midgar had bore. If it was an omen, of either good or bad, Aerith had no answer. No one would, she supposed. There were fifty nine staircases, each considered with a silent grudge. She thought of bitter things as she began to climb them. Taking two stair edges at a time, she thought of the bitterness of the world. Perhaps she was over reacting about the whole measure of her life style, but something did not fit. Thirst accompanied a dry throat. It failed to ebb from her mind. It failed to ebb as the dark images of the days of old did. Aerith remembered the sunshine and the warmth of it. She remembered how good it felt to frolic in the fields of the garden. She memorized all the kinds of flowers that were planted along the orphanage. She remembered Sephiroth Valentine. A quiet boy sitting under the conifer tree, always with a retort to her words. She remembered how solemn he was. How out of place against the blossoming life. She remembered most of all how he said he felt after the conifer tree withered and the garden withered and his spirit withered. Aerith had laughed, telling him he had never been full of spirit, but he had simply said he had been for the kind of person he was. He told her a part of it was missing. Aerith had nodded. The next day the orphanage had been torn down by the company of ShinRa and they took Sephiroth with them. It took Aerith a while, but she had found him again. She figured he was the reason she had become what she is now.

She could hear distinct shouting from the young soldiers who circled the ShinRa building. All young. All full of dreams that would probably be crushed by the corporation. A dream of peace in Aerith's heart had never died, but she knew it had in Sephiroth's. That was assuming he ever thought the world could be in peace. She remembered his retort. Humanity was a curse, he would say. Then he would grew silent. It was like he was smiling. Smiling at the cold world for smiling at him. Smiling at the pain everything had brought. The soldiers would abandon themselves and become greedy and hungry for power. That was assuming that they hadn't already. She was skeptical that they thought of the danger the company brought them. She wondered if any of them did. They probably were looking forward to a glory that only war and hate and crime could bring. They would look forward to it with shining eyes. Her heart felt jumbled and empty now. Finally she had placed herself into the silver haired man's shoes. Now she knew why he felt that man could not achieve things beyond their realm of just that-man. The only creature that kills of their own. The only creature that enjoys death for glory. The only creature that will sail over the bodies of the dead, climb over their fellow man, rip a hole in time with their feeble opinions, and just for a name sake. They wanted GLORY. Glory, really? A sense of power? Just a little bit of how it felt to be God? Man is not divine, even when they are shaped in the embodiment of God. Even if they are a gift from God. Man is NOT God. God sees this as he rains down on our merciless hearts. ShinRa. FUCK ShinRa.

As she neared the tenth staircase, Aerith let out choked cry and so forth every tenth case. The misery of man had started with Adam and Eve and went so forth with their sons and daughters. Two twins, Abel and Cain. One good, one bad. Aerith cried. Her thoughts became fragmented. Her choking cry became a trend every tenth stair. Worry and heartache wormed into her bosom to feast upon humanity's curse. This pain that Sephiroth had always known and always had seen . . . ate her heart. Slowly, she forgot why she was climbing stair after stair. For glory? No. Glory is death. Heaven and hell be thy glory. Hallowed! Oh, hallowed be they name, God! Why was it religion had been tossed aside in the turning sails of time? Religion was a thing that brought unity. But even such a thing being there to aid mankind in its darkest hour, the Crusades, the Holy wars of olden time had been there to laugh at brotherhood and unity. The Holy wars, the crusades, had been fought in the name of GOD. What a disaster. Holy land. Hah. It was God's punishment for men to think of God being in PLACE. God is EVERYWHERE.

She stared skyward at the impressive spirals. She thought of Midgar. She thought of its crimes. She thought of humanity. She thought of its crimes. This was Midgar. This was earth. This was where the streets have no names.

This is where the people have no faces. This where innocence is an impossible task. She contradicted her views. She had thought of Cloud Strife as innocent. No, she thought. No one is innocent now.

She climbed and she pushed herself onward, faster. She looked onward with scorn. Pain burned her calves. She wanted to return to the restaurant with Sephiroth without Cloud and have their fairly normal—to them—life back.

She climbed. Onward, ascending the stairwell to hell, with heaven in its right. Looking skyward again, a warmth that was wet and glistening fell onto her face. She wiped at her forehead and cheeks and discovered the warmth was blood. Still warm. She stepped away from her current spot for a glimpse of where it had come from. On a jagged end of the staircase, a piece of cloth, dripping with blood hung. She climbed the necessary amount of steps. She climbed. Pushed herself onward faster. She examined the cloth. There was a considerably large amount of blood that dripped down and some more which covered the jagged edge. Aerith recognized the material of the cloth and pushed herself onward yet again. Aerith smiled now. Had Sephiroth left a trail for her? She laughed inside. A trail of blood. So crimson, so deep red. He's such insane show off BASTARD, she thought.

From that point on she couldn't recall the number of staircases she had climbed. She lost count at maybe thirty of them that had been eaten up by her legs, so to speak. Her smile stayed upon her face, a silent prayer on her curling lips. What Sephiroth would give to be at harmony with the planet. What he would give to see it crumble to dust. But she smiled. It had already crumbled. It had already seeped its evils into the mainstream of the universe. The planet would have a silent scream on its lips if it had lips. The ever spinning staircase came to an end like everything else in the universe. Time traveled through the past in the universe. The stars are but scars of the past. The earth is but a giver of pain. A receiver of death. Mortality is forever. A line of faith is nothing. Her thoughts were fragmented now. So she stared as she climbed at the heaven above all hell and ignored the pain ripping into her calves.

___

Cloud huddled in the corner of the corridor and refused to think of what had happened. His eyes were shut tightly. He could almost see the stars in his eyes. The imprint of time on the night's velvet sky. The pigeons cooed, calmed from the last screams Sephiroth throat had to offer. The horrible scream reverberated in Cloud's head. His ears rang. His blood chilled. The pigeons cooed. The night, nor the child of song gave Sephiroth's scream solace. Cloud had run. Blood engraved in his mind, on his hands, in his sleep forever. It would be. It would be. He tried no to picture the sight of Sephiroth ripping at the already ravaged body of ShinRa's scientist. Sephiroth's father. Sephiroth’s hate. The man who abandoned him.

"Oh God," Cloud muttered and leaned over, the sharp stab he had all along in his stomach traveling up his esophagus and chilling his spine. He arched violently as he grew rigid on the floor and vomited just as violently. There was the image of Sephiroth, his face and body marred with blood, the pigeons making him their master.

"Cloud," the girl said, standing above the boy who trembled. The stabbing pain traveled down his back and to the pit of his stomach again before coming up into his throat again. Cloud threw up again, bile sizzling in his mouth. He cried and choked on the vile gastric juice.

"Leave me alone," he cried.

"S-Sephiroth's okay now, Cloud. I . . -I . . . I think. H-he . . . He's calm . . . now. I think he's . . . calm."

"You knew about this," Cloud said. A pigeon waddled past Cloud, cocking its head and with its crimson eyes it blinked at him and fluttered its bloody wings. "You knew about this, Yuffie," he said in a low whisper.

"Sephiroth?" It was so unnatural for Sephiroth to snap like this that Cloud was frightened. He sat on the window's pane, pigeons flying about him, more settling on his stiff limbs. The light flooded upon him and he appeared to be like a vision that many people claimed to see of Jesus, or someone holy.

The blood, most of which, was not his own. The stench of death almost made Cloud vomit again.

"Cloud, leave," Sephiroth rasped and collapsed against the pane, the birds fluttering away violently.

"Why Sephiroth? We have to get out of here," he said. And then . . . "I'm sorry I came here! I'm sorry I put you in danger!" Cloud pulled on his hair until his scalp ached and he bit into his lip to numb it out, long overdue tears beginning to roll down his cheeks.

"It's over now, Cloud. I suppose your sister can go with you. They'll have more evidence against me, you know . . . him being my father and all," Sephiroth lifted his chin and pointed his face in the direction of the body. The stench was almost overwhelming Cloud's nose. It almost felt as if the cartilage was bubbling, trying to burn the stench away in his nose.

"We can still—”

"Go, Cloud," Sephiroth cut him off.

"But . . .” Cloud's face scrunched up with sadness. He frowned at Sephiroth. Before he knew what was happening, strong arms circled around him and feathery light hair brushed against his skin. Cloud at first felt shock, but he quickly melted into the strong hold of the silver haired man. He was still strong even if he was weak. All thoughts would then cease as the strong arms fell away and the man's delicate fingers skillfully picked up the boy's chin, planting a long sultry kiss on Cloud's lips. Cloud savored the feeling of Sephiroth's lips and touched their glistening wetness, glancing up at Sephiroth with more sadness.

"You're dying, aren't you?" Cloud whispered. Sephiroth felt no need to cover up the fact that the amount of blood that left his body would never be given back to him in time. The wounds were too deep. They were not in a convenient situation either. He nodded slowly and looked at Cloud determinately.

"Death does not cease one's being, Cloud. Just remember that. When I die and when you die...when anyone dies . . . we will return to the planet. It will be our ultimate peace.

"This was Yuffie's fault, wasn't it?" Cloud asked, sniffling.

"It was no one's fault," he said, his voice hardening as he looked at the window.

"You're a ShinRa special defense man, aren't you, Sephiroth? Like Reno?"

"Yes, Cloud."

"I have . . . your mako gun," Cloud said, showing the shining gun to Sephiroth. The man just smiled and patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Just like a kid," Sephiroth mused with his former tone, so obviously a parody of himself that Cloud had the smile. He sank into Sephiroth's arms and hugged him, fearing and knowing it was a last embrace.

"Sephiroth?" Cloud said, looking up into the man's beautiful mirrored eyes. Sephiroth nodded slowly to Cloud and the boy touched Sephiroth's chest, right before the wound. His heart. "I love you, Sephiroth," he whispered.

Sephiroth looked down and slumped into Cloud's arms. The boy held him tightly.

"I know," Sephiroth said in a hardly heard whisper as he loosened in Cloud's grip significantly and his labored breath ended.

"Sephiroth?" Cloud searched for life in a whisper, but he knew that Sephiroth had already left his body. He had already returned to the planet.

Cloud lay Sephiroth's body down lightly, hurt lingering in his eyes as he stared at Sephiroth's closed eyes and parted lips. Cloud touched those lips that touched his own. He would have never imagined him kissing him back. He cradled his body once more before breaking away and he kneeled, unwrapping the bandages and stuffing them into Sephiroth's jeans pocket. Cloud stepped outside of the door, the mako gun in his hand. He had gotten it back from Yuffie after they had met Sephiroth. Cloud looked at the girl who was huddled in the corner. He felt the gun in his hands, tracing its lines and symmetry. When he reached her she looked up and gave him a questioning look. Cloud's expression was so hard and cold, lacking emotion. He raised the gun to Yuffie's head and pulled the trigger before she could react or struggle.

Watching her as she slumped , blood leaking from her head, Cloud frowned. As he walked away, he realized what he had always known. When he was a child in the burning building . . . Sephiroth had been there to save him. Cloud looked at the door and then at Yuffie. He sighed, feeling alone in the world.

"Cloud! Sephiroth!" he heard Aerith Gainsborough call. It was from the other side of the corridor. Cloud figured ShinRa was no longer protecting their elevators and he ran to the end of the corridor, fearing that Aerith would see what had happened.

"Aerith! I'm coming!" Cloud yelled and he disappeared into the elevator with her. Sephiroth's essence seemed to stay with Cloud as he rode the elevator down. Outside of the elevator, the drab world was crying for his death in the form of rain. Sephiroth would be blamed for Yuffie and Hojo's death. Cloud sighed, preparing to tell Aerith about his death.

Back to Midgar's grounds they would go. Back to home. Back to where the streets had no names.

The End


End file.
